The premiere of the screening was introduced at a commencement press event with Miyu Irino (Sora's voice actor) and actor Kanata Hongo, known for his roles in Prince of Tennis, Nana 2, and Attack on Titan (live action). They both expressed their excitement for Kingdom Hearts III; while Irino reminisced his role throughout the years, while Hongo expressed his happiness at seeing the series develop since he played the first installment.

UPDATE [Jan 9, 2019]: Kingdom Hearts series director Tetsuya Nomura was also at the event, albeit in secret! He wished fans a belated happy new year on Twitter. You can read his full message thanks to the translation by Goldpanner.

In regards to Kingdom Hearts III, Irino said:

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The graphics are very beautiful as it has been nearly 10 years since the release of Kingdom Hearts II, and the battle system is also considerably cooler. Kingdom Hearts III will be the completion of the Dark Seeker Saga, so I'd like you to look forward to its story and how it will be completed. Furthermore, I think that you can see Kingdom Hearts under a new light by participating in Toy Story other and Pixar work this time. Please wait for it!

In regards to a scene or favorite lines that left an impression on him while recording, he commented:

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I think it's in the trailers, the scene where Sora shouts emotionally was impressive. Even when I looked back on the series, Sora never exposed emotions to such a degree before, so I challenged myself to record with fresh feelings as well. Nonetheless, I did not record with a different feeling than before, but felt what happened in front of me as Sora, and spit out my feelings.

UPDATE [Jan 9, 2019]: Famitsu have published more Q&A with Miyu Irino; you can read the translations below, thanks to KH13 Staff @Mio-chan.

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Q. Kingdom Hearts III’s release is finally looming, from your point of view, given that you voiced Sora for a long time, what was your impression of Sora in this work?

Irino: "Since Sora has grown up as a human being and his build strengthened, compared to the first game there has been a feeling that intensified during scenes and then I came to wonder things like, "Is this something this character would say?" or "I should put more emotion into it." It was very fresh to play him. The trust in his relationship with Donald and Goofy became stronger too. Mr. Nomura was sticking along during those kinds of scenes, giving me guidance to a few pieces of dialogue by saying things like, "Say it like this." There were a lot of re-recordings.

Q. To which part should we pay attention to?

Irino: "This scene is [partly] in the [Final Battle] trailer and the commercial, but what I want you to pay attention to the most is the scene in which Sora is screaming, with his hands slamming the ground. Even I was surprised when I read the script.”

Some of the Premium Theater footage has been recorded thanks to Game Watch! You can watch it below.

UPDATE: It seems that the video has unfortunately been removed due to copyright breach. You can still watch other Premium Theater footage in our previous article.

We have included more fan photos from the event in our gallery. You can check them out below.

Update [Jan 15, 2019]: KH13 Staff @Mio-chan has translated more quotes by Miyu Irino at the event! You can read them below.

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"I couldn’t watch all of it [the Round Theatre showcase] at once because the images were projected on many surfaces. I would like to see it over and over again. The acoustics were also great."

"I think that you can look back at the worlds and characters that appear in the series from another angle, and discover a new charm to them."

"In the exhibit, I was surprised that the first script I signed ten years ago still remains. I didn’t think that fans could have seen it. [laughs]"

"The goods of the Kingdom Hearts series are all fashionable, and make you want more than one handkerchief."

"The series has touched more and more people, and I would like to try hard to convey that charm to many people so that they can play Kingdom Hearts III. Plus, I hope people will enjoy the Kingdom Hearts Premium theater which is screened on huge screens and have good acoustics that can only be appreciated at this event."